Brutalism ! Not really..

As the title suggests I have been looking into the name barbican and I believe it is not all that brutalist in its design. After some on site survey with an architectural tour of the area I have come against some very interesting facts. I believe architects Chamberlin, Powell and Bon were toying with the name of the site that existed since the roman empire since ruins of the roman wall are on this location!

I found evidence that suggests medieval times in this place. The first and most noticeable thing was the signs next to the names of the towers.

The second most intriguing aspect was the arrow slits on the high-walks of the pedestrian access to Barbican. It could be that the area was so badly hit by the war that instead of looking outside the people were forced to look inwards at the architecture itself. This again is a key quality in medieval architecture.

A good example of a fortification with arrow slits from medieval times would be the Corfe Castle in Dorset.

The next most exciting resemblance is beautifully portrayed on site. The design of the roof edge of St Giles' Cripplegate and the exterior of the balconies in the Barbican towers both have an extruding "teeth" like look.